(a) Death of Member before Retirement. Upon the death of any member before retirement:
(1) Accumulated Contributions. The member’s accumulated contributions shall be paid to such person or legal entity as the member shall have nominated by written designation, duly executed and filed with the Board of Administration or, if there be no such written designation of beneficiary, then to the surviving spouse or domestic partner of such deceased member, or to the member’s children in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner, or to the member’s parents in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner or children. In the event there be no written designation of beneficiary, surviving spouse or domestic partner, children or parents, then said accumulated contributions shall be paid to the executor or administrator of the estate of such deceased member, or to any other person or legal entity legally authorized to collect money due the decedent.
(2) Limited Pension. In the event such member shall have had at least one year of City service for which the member is entitled to receive retirement credit, then a limited pension shall be paid as provided herein. The limited pension shall be paid in equal monthly payments of one-half of the average monthly compensation earnable of such member during the member’s last year of service. For each year of service, not to exceed six (6) years, two (2) monthly payments shall be paid, not to exceed a total of twelve (12) monthly payments for six (6) or more years of service. Such limited pension shall be paid to the surviving spouse or domestic partner of such deceased member, or to the minor children of such member in the event there shall be no surviving spouse or domestic partner. The payment to a minor child shall continue beyond the month the child reaches age eighteen (18) if the child was a minor on the date of the member’s death. In the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner or minor children, the limited pension shall be paid to the dependent parents of such member. However, no limited pension shall be paid in the event the Board of Administration, upon investigation and after a hearing in the matter, finds that the death of such member was due to or resulted from the intemperance or the willful conduct of such member. In the event any such beneficiary should die before receiving the full amount of such limited pension, the same shall be continued to the persons who, in the order hereinabove set forth, qualify as beneficiaries thereof as of the date of death of such deceased beneficiary and who, within sixty (60) days after such date make demand for payment thereof; provided, however, that, in the event no such demand is made within such time, the said limited pension shall conclusively be deemed to have been terminated as of such date of death.
(3) Election of Optional Retirement Allowance when Member Eligible to Retire. In the event such member was eligible to retire pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1055 and that the person or persons entitled to be paid such limited pension is or are the same person or persons entitled to be paid, against the claims or demands of any and all other persons thereto, the full amount of such member’s accumulated contributions, then such person or persons may, by a written instrument duly executed, acknowledged and filed with the Board of Administration, waive payment of such limited pension and such accumulated contributions and elect to be paid, in lieu thereof, the optional retirement allowance which would have been paid to such member throughout the member’s life and continued, upon the member’s death, throughout the life or lives of such person or persons as the member’s designated survivor or survivors, had the member, as of the day preceding the member’s death, been retired pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1062(a)(1) and designated such person or persons as the member’s survivor or survivors. In no event shall the benefits of this paragraph be payable to any person after the allowance of a limited pension pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, nor shall the limited pension be payable to any person after the allowance of the benefits of this paragraph. If any person elects to receive the optional retirement allowance provided in this paragraph, no benefits shall be paid from the Family Death Benefit Plan established in Section 4.1090 of this Chapter.
The duly appointed, qualified and acting guardian of the estate of a minor child or an incompetent shall make such waiver and election on behalf of such minor child or incompetent.
Whenever a member shall die while in City service leaving a survivor who would be eligible to receive the benefit provided herein if the deceased member had been eligible, at the time of the member’s death, to retire pursuant to Section 4.1055 if such member’s vacation time accrued immediately preceding the day of death pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 6, Division 4 of this Code or any applicable Memorandum of Understanding would have been added to the member’s years of service, the accrued vacation time of the deceased member or any necessary portion thereof shall be added to such member’s total years of service. The benefit herein created shall be available at the option of the eligible survivor of the deceased member. Accrued vacation time of a deceased member may only be utilized for purposes of establishing eligibility to the survivorship benefits provided herein, and may not be used to create or affect other retirement rights provided in the City Charter or the Los Angeles Administrative Code.
(b) Death of Former Member before Retirement. Upon the death of any former member who had not yet retired, the former member’s accumulated contributions shall be paid to such person or legal entity as the former member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the Board of Administration or, if there be no such written designation of beneficiary, then to the surviving spouse or domestic partner of such deceased member, or to the member’s children in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner, or to the member’s parents in the event there be no surviving spouse or domestic partner or children. In the event there be no written designation of beneficiary, surviving spouse or domestic partner, children or parents, then said accumulated contributions shall be paid to the executor or administrator of the estate of such deceased member, or to any other person or legal entity legally authorized to collect money due the decedent. Every former member, including a former member who has established reciprocity with another retirement system, shall be limited to the rights provided in this paragraph if the former member dies prior to retirement.
(c) Death of Retired Member. Upon the death of a retired member:
(1) Continuance to a Survivor. A continuance of the retired member’s retirement allowance shall only be paid if the member elected to provide for a continuance to a survivor at the time of retirement.
(2) Unused Contributions and Unpaid Retirement Allowance. Upon the death of a retired member or, upon the death of all of the member’s survivors to whom a retirement allowance was paid, the unused contributions and any accrued but unpaid retirement allowance of the retiree shall be paid in the same manner as that provided in Subsection (a)(1) of this section for the payment of the accumulated contributions of a member who dies before retirement; provided, however, that the retired member or any survivors shall not have received a retirement allowance pursuant to which no refund of contributions is payable upon the death of the retiree or the retiree’s last survivor, in which case no contributions shall be refundable. For the purpose of this Article, the phrase “unused contributions” shall be the remainder, if any, of the accumulated contributions of such deceased member after deducting the total of all amounts paid on account of any annuity to such retiree and to the retiree’s survivor or survivors, provided that there shall be no unused contributions in the event that the retiree or any survivors received a retirement allowance pursuant to which no refund of contributions is payable upon the death of the retiree or the retiree’s survivor.
The spouse or domestic partner who is receiving a retirement allowance as a result of the retiree’s death, referred to as a survivor for purposes of this provision, may file a beneficiary designation with the Board of Administration naming a beneficiary or beneficiaries for any accrued but unpaid allowance payable upon the survivor’s death and, subject to the limitations set forth below, for the deceased’s unused contributions.
Upon the survivor’s death, any accrued but unpaid allowance due the survivor shall be paid in the following order: (i) to the survivor’s designated beneficiaries; (ii) if none, to the children of the survivor; (iii) if no children, to the parents of the survivor; or (iv) if no parents, to the executor or administrator of the estate of the survivor or to any other person or legal entity legally entitled to collect money due to the survivor. Should the survivor leave no one legally entitled to collect any accrued allowance, it shall be paid in the following order: (i) to the deceased retired member’s children; or (ii) if none, to the deceased retired member’s parents; or (iii) if none, to the executor or administrator of the estate of the retired member or to any other person or legal entity legally entitled to collect money due to the deceased retired member.
If the deceased member has failed to designate a beneficiary for the unused contributions or if the beneficiaries so designated by the deceased member have all predeceased the survivor, then upon the death of the survivor, the Board of Administration shall pay the unused contributions pursuant to the survivor’s beneficiary designation on file with the Board. In the event the survivor has no beneficiary designation on file or the named beneficiaries have all predeceased the survivor, then the unused contributions shall be paid in the following order: (i) to the deceased member’s children; or (ii) if none, to the deceased member’s parents; or (iii) if none, to the executor or administrator of the estate of the survivor or to any other person or legal entity legally entitled to collect money due to the deceased survivor.
(3) Burial Allowance. Upon the death of every retired member, the sum of $2,500.00 shall be paid to one, and only one, person or legal entity whom the retired member shall have nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the Board of Administration, or to the surviving spouse or domestic partner of such deceased retired member in the event there be no designated beneficiary, provided that such payment shall be made only after satisfactory evidence has been presented to the Board showing that the expense of burial of the decedent has been paid or that the obligation to pay therefor has been assumed by a person or persons or an organization legally capable of contracting such obligation. The fact of burial, as evidenced by a certified copy of the death certificate, shall be sufficient evidence of compliance with the requirements stated in the foregoing sentence. While the purpose of this benefit is to provide a funeral allowance for the deceased retiree, the Retirement System shall have no responsibility to assure that this payment is used for that purpose.
In the event there be no designated beneficiary, surviving spouse or domestic partner, or in the event the requirements herein stated with respect to the expense of burial of such retired member have not been complied with within such time as said Board in its discretion may determine, then the payment of the amount specified in this provision shall be paid to the executor or administrator of the estate of such decedent or to any other person or legal entity legally authorized to receive money due said decedent.
(d) Reversion of Unclaimed Contributions to the Retirement Fund. The right to payment of the accumulated contributions upon the death of the member or former member before retirement, as provided in Subsections (a) and (b) herein, and the right to payment of the member’s unused contributions, as provided in Subsection (c) herein, upon the later of the death of the retired member or the member’s survivor to whom an allowance was paid, is a vested property right of the person(s) entitled to such payment; provided, however, that should the person(s) entitled thereto fail to claim this benefit within ten (10) years from the date of such death, the funds shall revert to the Retirement Fund, unless and until, the Board of Administration receives a valid belated claim for payment determined at the sole discretion of the Board of Administration. Any death benefit payable shall be subject to mandatory minimum distribution as required by the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the funds that are required to be distributed shall revert to the Retirement Fund if the person(s) entitled to the funds refuses to cooperate in electing to be paid such funds or cannot be located and the Retirement System has followed Internal Revenue Service procedures to locate such person(s).
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.